A fire burning near Grass Range threatened a cabin, but crews were able to keep the fire away from the building.

The Blakeslee fire, located about seven miles northeast of Grass Range, burned about 1,100 acres of private, state and Bureau of Land Management managed land, according to Incident Commander Isaac Wald, a BLM wildland firefighter.

The fire was in the vicinity of the Acid Shale Pine Forest Area of Critical Environmental Concern.

The cause of the fire is suspected to be a smoldering lightning strike fire fanned by winds.

The fire was reported to the Lewistown Interagency Dispatch Center midmorning Tuesday. As resources were deploying to the scene, the fire rapidly grew in size from 10 acres to more than 200 acres in the span of about 45 minutes due to winds and dry fuel conditions. The fire burned on varying terrain including heavy juniper, mixed pine, grass and sage brush.

Nearly 80 Wildland firefighters from BLM, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, Fergus County, Petroleum County, Carter County, Garfield County, Grass Range Rural Fire District, Cheadle RFD U.S. Forrest Service and others responded to the fire with 18 engines, two helicopters, a reconnaissance airplane and a Billings-based air tanker.

The fire burned in an area surrounded by several ranches, including: Gerdrum, Degner, Basset Meadows, Hedman and Teigan. Ranchers and ranch hands from nearby also helped contain the blaze with water trucks and a tractor pulling tilling disks driven by Joe Delany, which created a 20-foot-wide fire break effectively boxing in a significant area ahead of the fire.

Two road graders and a bulldozer were also used to create a perimeter around the fire, preventing further spread and allowing firefighters and equipment to move rapidly though the area.

The Blakeslee fire is in the area now being called The Fire Box due to the number of fires it has experienced this fire season. The Fire Box is bordered by Highways 19 and 191 to the west, Highway 200 to the south, the Upper Missouri River and Fort Peck Lake to the north and the Musselshell River to the east. Wildland firefighters battled four fires in the Fire Box last week alone (79 fire, Alkali fire, West fire and Unit E fire). Other notable Fire Box fires this year include the Crooked Creek fire and the Olin fire.

To report wildfires, call 911 or the Lewistown Interagency Dispatch Center at 406-538-1072.

For information on fire restrictions, visit the fire restrictions website at www.firerestrictions.us.